Eurostar slammed over chaos of Chunnel train breakdowns

A DAMNING indictment of the causes and handling of Eurostar's pre-Christmas rail chaos – when thousands of passengers were stuck for hours in the Channel Tunnel in appalling conditions – was handed down in an independent report.

Snow got into the Eurostar trains' power cars after winter maintenance work had not been done properly, the report said.

The report's authors described terrible heat and darkness for passengers, who included pregnant mothers and children returning from Disneyland Paris, and said Eurostar had been "found wanting".

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Toilets overflowed and passengers on one shuttle train even had to designate one carriage as "an open toilet area".

They added that the company had "no plan in place" to deal with the breakdown of five trains in the tunnel on the night of December 18 and 19.

Making 21 recommendations, the report's authors said Eurotunnel had to improve its maintenance, its communication with passengers and its emergency procedures.

The report was compiled by former GNER East Coast Main Line rail boss Christopher Garnett and French transport expert Claude Gressier.

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Mr Garnett said yesterday: "Passengers must not go through this again."

Following the publication of the report, Eurostar said it had modified its trains and more work on them was being done. The company is also spending 12m on a new communication system.

Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown said: "I know we let our passengers down before Christmas and I am determined to put things right."

The report said that in reviewing the causes of the breakdown of the trains, it had become apparent that the standard winter-weather procedures followed by Eurostar were not suited to the actual weather conditions.

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The report added that the problems of snow getting into the trains' works and the build up of condensation when passing into the warm tunnel from the cold outside "were not fully recognised at the time when the Eurostar power cars were being designed".

The report vividly described conditions in the 664-passenger, broken-down "Disney train" where temperatures got so hot that parents had to remove their children's clothes, leaving them in underwear and nappies.

When these Disney passengers were transferred on to a Eurotunnel passenger shuttle train, it was "cold and dirty".

The report went on: "All passengers including, pregnant women and small children, had to sit on greasy floors or lean against the sides of the carriage.

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The report also told of hours of confusion and further delays and frustrations for passengers through the night and into the morning of December 19 before they were able to get home. Some failed to fully understand the French-accented announcements, others felt they were held "captive" on the trains and many complained about lack of food and a lack of information.

The report said Eurostar should have been better prepared and reacted earlier.

With no plan in place, the company had to "improvise" and its provision of information to customers was "inadequate".

Mr Garnett and Mr Gressier said: "We believe there are three lessons to be learned.

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"First, passengers need to be assured that the Eurostar trains are reliable and so improvements need to be made in this area as a priority.

"Second, if a train breaks down and passengers have to be rescued or evacuated, this must be done with greater speed and consideration, and more comprehensive emergency plans should be put in place.

"Third, in an emergency, passengers need to have prompt information and regular updates. Eurostar must improve the way it communicates with passengers and put in place new systems and practices to achieve that."

Eurostar apologised to passengers and said it would implement all the recommendations.

Mother loses faith in train company

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A mother who claimed her family was treated worse than cattle in the pre-Christmas Eurostar travel fiasco has said she has "lost all faith" in the company.

Emma Powney , 30, was stranded in the Channel Tunnel for hours with her partner Tom and two young children – Joshua, five, and Noah, two – after their train broke down. They were returning from a trip to Disneyland Paris.

She said her family were left "exhausted, cold and tired" during their ordeal one night the week before Christmas.

Ms Powney, who went to London yesterday to read the inquiry report, branded an offer of 150 compensation from Eurostar as "insulting".